S2000 or Swapped E30?

[drift]

if you are just graduated from high school and going to college with reliable school fund, get S2000, coz it has more " chick magnet" power, rather than e30.

if you are 'back to schooler' midlife man, e30 would be cool.

[delatlanta1281]

When it comes to fwd v8s I would go with the e30 over the s2000 any day. Plus, the e30 has two more headlights.

[FredK]

I agree with getting the S2000. Newer car and assembled at a factory with insane quality control. S50 swap cars can be a crapshoot with wiring, engine, etc. Personally if I were going to college I'd forgo the two seater and get something with more doors and a back seat.

[brandondan1]

they r the same time, and i can pull on an e46 m3 anyday buddy. i have an s52 with 24# injectors, 3.5" hfm, full exhaust, ltw fly and chip. so get ur weak, over priced, torqueless honda motor out of here. put that motor in a gutted 92 hatch and i'll respect it, cuz then it will actually be FAST. the s2k is a beautiful car and handles amazing, but it lacks too much low end power for the $ just like an rx-8. get a used sti and enjoy life, it will outpower and out handle an s2000 w/ some easy suspension mods. s2ks r overrated.

Ok, so you go from "an e36 m3 will stomp an s2k" to "they r the same time."...

Hmm, so I guess since you "pull on e46 m3s", they're overpriced and overrated too. You're funny. It's not like you can't put a supercharger and coils on a s2k if you want more out of the car.

I'm talking about a stock s50 swap. He won't even have enough money to get an e30, mod it, and get it up to par for 15k (especially if he isn't looking to spend months wrenching on the car, and pays a shop). Look at how much money the 'best' e30s have invested into them.

Blunt, do you have numbers for a stock s50 swap? Something that actually has accessories that work, and an interior? Would be interesting to see.

Better yet, I don't really care. I'm sure a basic s50 swap would be fun, I'm not objecting to that. The s2000 is still going to be superior in the end. If you want a real sports car that's reliable and also a chick magnet, that's obviously your choice.

[jpsfab]

It's not even a contest. S2k hands down. S2k is a much better car by far. I own 2 S2k's, one boosted and one n/a and I love it. You"ll enjoy it a lot.

[Jean]

Ok, so you go from "an e36 m3 will stomp an s2k" to "they r the same time."...

Hmm, so I guess since you "pull on e46 m3s", they're overpriced and overrated too. You're funny. It's not like you can't put a supercharger and coils on a s2k if you want more out of the car.

I'm talking about a stock s50 swap. He won't even have enough money to get an e30, mod it, and get it up to par for 15k (especially if he isn't looking to spend months wrenching on the car, and pays a shop). Look at how much money the 'best' e30s have invested into them.

Blunt, do you have numbers for a stock s50 swap? Something that actually has accessories that work, and an interior? Would be interesting to see.

Better yet, I don't really care. I'm sure a basic s50 swap would be fun, I'm not objecting to that. The s2000 is still going to be superior in the end. If you want a real sports car that's reliable and also a chick magnet, that's obviously your choice.

And a convertable chassis that's very stiff to boot. And peace of mind in case it gets stolen or crashed you won't have to fight your insurance company to give you more than $2000 for your e30 lol

[speedblind]

Goddamn son, you need to get your priorities straight! You're going to college and worried about what you're going to drive? I believe you've missed the point...perhaps I can help. First, to keep this post at least somewhat on topic, you've posted a question and I'll try to provide an answer.

It's amazing to me that a topic like this could become an 11-page thread. Even more amazing is some peoples' insistence that the E30 is a world-beater if done right. It's amazing what you find on the Internet, and it's also painfully obvious when people haven't owned/daily driven a heavily modified/swapped car and dealt with the constant and diverse problems that arise.

Maybe, at 27, I'm getting old and finally seeing the value of a car that doesn't require a toolkit in the trunk and a willingness to put up with fixing shit on the side of the road constantly, but I don't see any argument to be made here...for a college car as a DD, why wouldn't you want something reliable? A swapped 20-year-old car doesn't fit that bill very well. Sure, it can be done, and you'll probably be a more patient, better person for it, but there's just no reason to deal with all the extra crap that a heavily modified car puts you through.

If anything, you should expand your range. At 15K, you have a ton of options in the used car market. If I had the same to spend right now, I'd go either S2000 or E36 M3. 15K also puts you in used WRX range, though, and those cars are just as tough and reliable as the Honda/BMW options.

Really, with 15K to spend going into college, you're in a pretty fortunate position. Not many people get to spend that much money on a car that will likely get abused and ruined over the next two years. I certainly would never want to bring a nice car to school - your buddies will throw up in it, you'll bang it up trying to park it after being up for two days, some asshole in your apartment/dorm complex will ding the thing up/break into it, etc. Matter of fact, now that I'm thinking about it, maybe you should get a swapped E30. Leave the clean M3s and S2000s for the rest of us. ;)

Have fun in college. Buy whatever will get you around, and don' spend all your time on the internet talking cars. Go to your classes, do your work, get drunk with your friends and make some bad decisions. That's what this part of your life is about. You'll have plenty of time to worry about what to drive when you're chatting about politics over a snifter of brandy at the country club once you become wildly successful.

That's my advice to a future college attendee.